Share via

It is one of the world’s most interventionist maternity systems, with more than a third of women having Caesarean sections rather than natural births.

Now, American women wanting to avoid the culture of medical intervention in hospital are choosing to stay away in record numbers.

With 32.8 per cent of women now having C-sections compared with just 4.5 per cent in 1965, the number of mothers in the US having out-of- hospital births has also reached a record high, with 54,635 deliveries, the vast majority of which were carried out at home. It is the highest rate since 1975.